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Saturday, September 13, 2014

Saturday Sampler - Saturday in Serendipity by Margo Hoornstra

A high school reunion changes the lives of old
classmates and leads to unexpected futures.

Three Strikes
Thursday

Barry Carlson had it all, a successful pro
baseball career and the adoration of any woman he wanted. Except one, Amanda
Marsh. Twenty years ago in high school, Barry won Amanda’s love only to crush
her heart. Forced to retire in his prime, he’s back in their home town of
Serendipity, Vermont determined to earn a second chance. Recently divorced,
Amanda is happily single until Barry slides back into her life. She isn’t
interested in a repeat performance. Turning him down should be easy, if only he
wasn’t still the love of her life. Will Barry and Amanda put aside old wounds
and new misunderstandings to find their forever love?

The solution was simple. Get out of the car, walk up to the
house and ring the bell. Apologize for the intrusion when her father came to
the door, and ask to see Amanda.

Only for a couple of
minutes. Please.

Then he could fall all over himself telling her how sorry he
was.

“Yeah that’s gonna fly.” His whisper filled the emptiness
around him, and he dropped his head. “Face it, asshole. You blew it.”

In an odd way, talking to himself, he didn’t feel quite so
alone.

He turned his gaze back to stare at Amanda’s window. The
shade was still down. Her light was out.

So that was it.

Moving like a rigid, soulless robot, Barry put the car in
gear and drove slowly away. Picking up speed as he left Amanda’s subdivision,
he floored it once he hit the highway. With the windows down, the warm night
air cooled as it roared around him.

He flicked the headlights on high. Their beams lit up the
trees, telephone poles and bushes as they whizzed by. Nothing could stop him as
long as he kept his foot down hard on the gas pedal. Then something did.

Pulling to one side of the deserted road, he jammed the gear
shift into park, jumped out, ran around to the back bumper, bent over.

And puked his guts out onto the warm asphalt.

Two On
Tuesday

Blane Weston’s construction company
needs the venture capital Matt Durand is more than willing to provide. But with
his reputation for hostile business takeovers, she makes it clear she wants no
part of what he has to offer. Especially when he shows up at one of her
building sites, unannounced and early to negotiate terms. Besides, Blane has
other plans for the next few days. Alone and single for far too long, she’s
ready to hook up with a former flame at her high school reunion in Serendipity,
Vermont. Not used to being denied, Matt follows her only to find her
destination holds memories and unfinished business for him. How can Blane possibly
enjoy a journey back to her past when Matt is determined to dictate her future?

They didn’t talk much after that. She had her head rested
against the seat and looked to be sleeping. He would have needed to unclench
his jaw in order to speak intelligently.

Her eyes remained closed as they drove along the picturesque
shoreline. Further out on the water, two wave runners raced side by side. After
one swamped the other, the conqueror made a victory lap around the vanquished.
Briefly taking his concentration from the road, he helped himself to glimpses
of the beautiful face angled his way. Long lashes brushed cheeks tinted pink by
the few hours this morning spent in the sun. Her lips were slightly open as she
breathed through her mouth.

A
definitely kissable mouth.

He exhaled a sharp breath as his
attention returned to his driving. Passing through the next green light, hand
over hand, he made a right turn onto Quincy Avenue and immediately saw Anderson
Memorial Hospital. He cruised by the first driveway entrance before turning
into the second. Their change in direction must have roused her. She stirred in
the seat and opened her eyes, but said nothing.

One
Fateful Friday

His twentieth high school reunion in
Serendipity, Vermont leaves hospital CEO Jake Holbrook feeling lonely and alone.
So when a special woman from his past tumbles back into his life—and his
bed—he’s determined to keep her there. Family practice physician Bethany Thomas
knows it’s a bad idea to sleep with her late husband’s best friend—even if he
is the only man she ever loved. After years of marriage to the wrong man, she
isn’t looking for an entanglement with her future boss. Clashing philosophies
on patient care lead to an unknowing betrayal. As the holidays approach, Jake’s
job is on the line. Can Bethany and Jake overcome their lack of trust to find
their own Christmas miracle?

“Where have you been?” Jake issued the demand as Bethany approached.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Where have you been?”

“That’s what I thought you said. If your question deserved
an answer, I’d be happy to give you one.” She reached around him to open the
entrance door.

He brought his arm across to hold it shut. “I deserve an
answer regardless. But, okay, how about this? What the hell have you been doing
with that clinic I put you in charge of?”

At the vehemence within his words, she stopped her attempts
to push by him. “Taking care of patients.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“And what else?”

“There is nothing else. People come in sick, and we help
them get well.” She poked a finger into his chest. “The mission of this place,
remember? Your words, not mine.”

“With lights and heat to keep on, which is putting those
fiscal responsibilities in their most elemental terms. In addition, there is
what amounts to a gigantic mortgage to pay.”

“That’s your job. And I’m trying to do mine, so move out of
my way, please. I need to get back to work.”

When he continued to stand before her with his brow still
furrowed and arms crossed, she put one hand on each shoulder and stood on
tiptoe to meet him eye to eye. “Move, Jake. I have a patient to admit.”

Like many who create stories, I figured
someday to write a book. But only when the time was right, which meant after I
earned a formal education, launched and sustained a successful and rewarding
career, married, then raised a family and became financially independent.

To paraphrase the song lyric, life
happened while I was making plans. Proof of the education is in a frame on the
wall, the career came and went, the husband is still with me, but the children
are grown, and our vast accumulation of wealth never materialized.

Still, life is good, life is busy.
Besides writing, I enjoy hiking and walking, especially in the fall, hate to
cook and love to read.

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction.
For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com